


Split the Difference

by SailorPortia



Series: Femslash February 2021 [9]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Chivalry, Comedy, F/F, Hamanda is technically a ship here but I'm not tagging it, Hanbara is also established but not the real focus so also not tagging, Jealousy, Nightfall based references, Pre-OT3, They're all gonna get together, meta jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:42:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29761209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorPortia/pseuds/SailorPortia
Summary: Barbara has no idea what Hannah sees in Amanda, and she doesn't particularly want to look for it. Sure, Amanda is good-looking and funny, but she's also a punk and a best friend stealer, and nothing can change her mind.
Relationships: Amanda O'Neill/Barbara Parker, Hannah England/Amanda O'Neill/Barbara Parker
Series: Femslash February 2021 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2140674
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	Split the Difference

Barbara stabbed at her paper with her pen. "What does Hannah even see in her?"

"See in who?" Lotte asked, frowning slightly.

"That one." Barbara pointed at the offender. She couldn't even bear to name her. That would dignify her as a human.

Lotte squinted at the cluster of girls horsing around in the middle of the grounds. "You mean Amanda?"

Barbara and Lotte were yet again poring over the  _ Nightfall _ series, comparing continuity notes and headcanons. In particular, the formerly closeted fan was compiling notes on what she believed ("It's not a 'belief,' it's a verifiable fact!") was a ménage à trois between a dullahan, a Cornish pixie, and brownie, starting in volume 345. Rather, she was  _ attempting _ to compile notes. She had made the mistake of suggesting they do it outside, the domain of the contemptible Amanda O'Neill, who was holding court in the grass centre of the roundabout in front of the school. Barbara wouldn't be half as annoyed if her best friend wasn't numbered among the courtiers.

The sound of a  _ Nightfall  _ book being slammed on top of the book pile was Barbara's answer.

"We could go somewhere else if she's too distracting," Lotte suggested. It was a reasonable suggestion; the school's front steps were hardly the best place for their chosen activity.

Barbara shook her head. "I'm still going to be annoyed." She continued glaring at the rambunctious American. "What's so interesting about Amanda anyway?"

"Well, she can be pretty funny, she can dance, and she has a lot of cool stories."

All perfectly sensible answers. Barbara wanted to vomit. The only thing worse than Amanda having fans for no reason was Amanda having fans for good reasons.

"She can be a lot sometimes," Lotte added, "but she's a really good friend. She's my friend too," she reminded Barbara.

The brunette pouted. "Be that as it may, you're not Hannah." She delivered the statement as if the significance were glaringly obvious.

"Why does it bother you that the two of them are friends?" Lotte fretted and worked up the courage necessary to ask her next question. "Are you jealous?"

Barbara made an indignant noise. "Me? Jealous? As if. What do I have to be jealous about? As if someone of her calibre could come between me and Hannah." Barbara had nothing to be insecure about. She and Hannah were as close as two people could be. They were practically soul mates. They had a bond that couldn't be severed by something as mundane as affection for another. Sure, it was jarring that Hannah was choosing to spend her time with someone else instead of her. Well, she hadn't been choosing exactly. Hannah wanted to hang out with both of them, but Barbara would rather scrub the troll baths than spend time with Amanda. If it were anyone else she could understand, but Amanda almost got expelled on a weekly basis, and the only thing she had going for her was the most immature witch at Luna Nova.

"She's not even that hot," Barbara grumbled. It wasn't like Amanda was the only girl who'd look hot in a suit with her hair slicked back.

"Hannah's not just interested in Amanda because of her looks," Lotte said. Her shipper's intuition told her so.

"Really?" Barbara barked out a laugh. "What does she have besides her looks?" Again, not that Amanda was even that hot. Definitely not.

Lotte ignored the implications of Barbara's reply. "Well, it's just like in  _ Nightfall _ . Beatrice didn't understand why Petra was friends with a dullahan, since they were different types of seelies. Then when Deirdre rescued Beatrice from her host house burning down, she realized that Deirdre was reliable and courageous and the three of them got along."

"That's completely different!" Barbara protested. She couldn't believe Lotte was using her polyamory headcanon against her. "Deidre is chivalrous! She was a lady knight who was beheaded for defying a patriarchal society! Amanda's a chav and a best friend stealer!"

"That's what Beatrice said at first," Lotte said, undaunted by Barbara's objections. "The three of them were much happier after they accepted each other's differences."

Barbara didn't want to accept her and Amanda's differences. She wanted Hannah to come to her senses and realize the two of them were better off with an American interloper.

Barbara would've defended the honour of her headcanon, but a sudden interruption derailed her. A gust of wind swept up a stray piece of paper and blew it into the grasp of a nearby tree's branches.

"My notes!" Barbara cried. She'd be damned if she let her meticulously collected notes on her  _ Nightfall  _ OT3 be stolen by nature itself. After making sure to weigh down her other notes with a book, Barbara dashed off after the runaway paper. She sprinted to the tree and was scaling the trunk before she realized that she had never climbed a tree before. It was a distinctly unladylike activity. In any other situation it would be unthinkable, but her headcanon notes were on the line.

"Be careful!" Lotte yelled after her.

Barbara barely heard her. She climbed the tree with single-minded determination. Tree branches clawed at her, but she paid them no mind. The paper fluttered in the wind, threatening to fly loose and begin the chase over again. All she had to do was reach out and—

"I've got it!" Barbara cheered and clutched at the notes. In her jubilation she punched the air with her other hand, leaving her with no hands to hold herself up with...

"Barbara!"

Barbara had a second to consider her terrible life choices before she hit the ground. Two seconds. Three seconds. Four seconds? Five seconds??? Why was this taking so long?

"This is kinda like the pot calling the kettle black, but you need to be more careful."

Barbara opened her eyes to find herself face-to-face with none other than the contemptible Amanda O'Neill. Amanda had caught her in mid-air and was holding her bridal style. Lotte and Hannah were still on their way over.

"You were halfway across the grounds!" Barbara said, latching onto trivialities to distract from her current circumstances. "Just how fast are you?"

"Depends on the situation," Amanda said, winking as she delivered her next line. "I can take things slow when I need to."

Barbara blushed. Then she got mad at herself for blushing. Amanda O'Neill was  _ not _ charming. "You'd better not be slow when you put me down. Right now!"

"No can do, duchess," Amanda said, smirking. "If I let you go you might fall out of another tree. You're a lot safer with me."

A butch girl telling her she was safe was one of Barbara's bisexual life goals. She practically melted until she remembered that this was Amanda O'Neill, menace to witch society. Her exterior hardened, but her insides remained in a warm, semi-liquid state.

Lotte and Hannah caught up with Amanda, relieved that Barbara was okay.

"Thank Jennifer Amanda caught you in time," Hannah said, positively overflowing with love for the pair of them.

"That was...  _ chivalrous _ of her," Lotte said.

Barbara pouted at Lotte, who giggled and hid behind Hannah.  _ Deirdre and Amanda are nothing alike _ , Barbara wanted to scream. Even if they were, that would totally conflict with her OT3 headcanon, because there was no way Hannah, Amanda, and Barbara could get along with each other like that. Especially not like the OT3 got along in her explicit-rated fics...

"What's wrong, Barbara?" Hannah asked. She stepped forward and stroked her beloved's face. "Are you hurt?"

Barbara squeaked. Being caressed by Hannah while being held by Amanda was too much stimulation. She started to melt again.

"She's fine," Amanda said. "She just needs to have some fun. Too much reading is bad for your health."

"Wait, what?" Barbara found herself being carried at high speed over to where Amanda had been horsing around before. Hannah trailed behind them, unable to chastise Amanda through her own laughter. Barbara would have resisted, but she didn't have the heart to do it. Hannah looked like she was having fun, so Barbara shut up and let her knight run away with her.

"Have fun!" Lotte called after the trio. She returned to the stacks of  _ Nightfall _ books and checked off a box on the notes for her own OT3 theory.


End file.
